Many passenger seats such as those on passenger aircraft, buses, trains, and the like are arranged so that each passenger seat, other than the forward-most located passenger seats, faces the back of the next forward passenger seat. To increase a passenger's comfort, many passenger seat backs rotate between upright and reclined positions.
In some instances, a tray table may be mounted adjacent to the back of each passenger seat for use by a passenger in the next aft passenger seat. The tray table is deployed by the passenger to provide a relatively flat surface for eating, working, recreation, or other uses.
In many conventional uses, the tray table may be mounted to the back of each passenger seat via a pair of retractable arms that allow the tray table to be pulled toward the passenger while deployed. Conventionally, the tray tables are mounted indirectly to the base of the passenger seat, and are not mounted to the seat back frame of the passenger seat. This allows the seat back to recline while not affecting the use of the tray for an aft passenger. The separation of seat back frame and tray table also helps to isolate the tray table from vibration or other disturbances.
Recently, there has been movement in carrier industries away from passenger comfort and convenience towards light-weight, compact seating arrangements. Many common carriers have moved away from reclining seats, particularly on shorter routes, to allow for lighter seats and reduced space requirements for passengers. This change in focus has led to non-reclining seats, and new opportunities for advancement of tray table technology. In particular, a tray table mounted directly to a seat back frame offers a number of advantages over conventional tray table assemblies.
The present invention discloses, among other things, a tray table that is pivotally coupled to the seat back frame of a non-reclining passenger seat. This arrangement allows for a simplified mounting and installation of the tray table, which saves weight, material costs, and labor costs during installation. A tray table pivotally coupled to the seat back frame is also a more reliable design, with fewer moving parts and potential pinch points than the traditional tray table mounting arrangements. Furthermore, pivotally coupling a tray table to a non-reclining seat back frame saves space. There is less space required between the aft edge of the seat back and the forward edge of the deployed tray table due to the fixed nature of the seat back frame. There are also opportunities for coupling the tray table to the seat back frame in such a way as to recess the tray table into the seat back in its stowed position, further reducing passenger space requirements and allowing for more compact seating arrangements.